Saturday, December 31, 2011

NaBloPoMo 12/31

The Gift of Optimism:
This year some of the book titled I read were No Impact Man, The Story of Stuff, In Defense of Food, and The Hundred Dollar Holiday.
Despite this, I still have plenty of stuff, including cans of cream of mushroom soup, and spent well over $100 at Christmas.
This week the internet seems rife with stories about 2011 recaps and how folks are elated to see this year wrap up in a don't-let-the-door-hit-you-on-the-way-out kind of way. While the year may have stank economy-wise, here on Cape Cod I still have my favorite local radio station and a membership to the farm that's a mere 10 minutes from my house. Farmers markets sprang up everywhere in 2011 with two winter markets scheduled to start in Falmouth after the first of the year. My sons' elementary school went paperless with his take-home notices and our fall fundraiser included the sale of reusable shopping bags instead of shiny wrapping paper that can't be recycled or burned. Shopping local for the holidays was promoted everywhere and despite my dream in which they folded to make way for a hip and knee replacement store, the sales woman at our main street toy store said sales were strong this year.
So maybe it wasn't all doom and gloom. Not if you turned over every stone and really looked.

2 comments:

Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski said...

Terrific post ... especially the part where I was feeling the "I'm right there with you sister" and then the (surprise!) twist of the reminder that 2011 wasn't all doom and gloom. A reminder to turn over every stone and not accept the stataus quo.

Blessings.

Joanne said...

Hi Cindy,
Thanks for your positive comment. I just wanted to point out some small steps in what I consider to be the right direction.
Now if I could just get the other moms to stop idling their cars at parent pick up - then I might be happy!